The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Jimmy Kitts

Followed Henry Redd. Jimmy Kitts held Virginia Tech at Regional Program III for 3 seasons.

Peak, then fade
29–38
1936–1947 · 2 stints
RiceVirginia Tech
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Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Stature score reached, by season of his head-coaching careerRICEVIRGINIA TECHNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelRice, 1936: 5-7, National Program II1936Rice, 1937: 6-3, National Program I1937Rice, 1938: 4-6, National Program I1938Rice, 1939: 1-9, National Program I1939+0.0Virginia Tech, 1941: 6-4, Regional Program III1941Virginia Tech, 1946: 3-4, Regional Program III1946Virginia Tech, 1947: 4-5, Regional Program IV1947-0.7One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached National Program in his 1st career season — faster than 41% of the 675 FBS coaches who have ever reached National Program (rank #1 of 675 by seasons-to-arrival).

Rice, 4 seasons
+0.0
National Program II → National Program I.
Virginia Tech, 3 seasons
−0.7
Regional Program III → Regional Program IV.

The big-game ledger

How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.

2–4 against his rivals. Winless in 4 tries against Bernie Moore.

Rivalry record
2–4–1
28.6% · 2 rivals
One-score games
12–15–5
37.5% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–1
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
SMU2–250%
Virginia0–2–10%
The toughest matchup
vs. Bernie Moore0–4
4 meetings, 1936–1939
’36 L’37 L’38 L’39 L
0% win rate across a real, 4-meeting series — short of the bar this site uses before badging a series “Nemesis.” Shown here as the toughest matchup on record, not an algorithmic crown.
Performance by opponent class
Blue Blood
0–1 0.0%
Power Program
3–14 17.6%
National Program
10–10 50.0%
Regional Program
5–6 45.5%

Coaching career

1941–1947
Virginia Techcaretaker
Regional Program III → Regional Program III
Jimmy Kitts held Virginia Tech at Regional Program III for 3 seasons.

15th-best Virginia Tech tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Followed Henry Redd (1936–1940) · succeeded by Robert McNeish (1948–1950).

13–13
1936–1939
Ricecaretaker
National Program I
Jimmy Kitts held Rice at National Program I for 4 seasons.

2nd-best Rice tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Succeeded by Jess Neely (1940–1966).

16–25